Austin Hack of Old Lyme was named yesterday as one of the men’s eight that will represent the United States at the 2016 Final Qualification Regatta, May 22-24, in Lucerne, Switzerland. In order to compete in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the team must finish in the top two overall in their races at Lucerne.
Hack was a member of the Lyme-Old Lyme High School Class of 2010 and went on to Stanford University, where he continued to excel in both academics and rowing.
Since graduating from Stanford in 2014 with a degree in political science, Hack has been training intensively with the US Rowing Training Center at Princeton in the hopes of achieving his Olympic dream.
The remaining members selected for the crew include coxswain Sam Ojserkis (Linwood, N.J.), Glenn Ochal (Philadelphia, Pa.), Rob Munn (Redmond, Wash.),Mike DiSanto (Boston, Mass.), Steve Kasprzyk (Cinnaminson, N.J.), Alex Karwoski (Hollis, N.H.), Hans Struzyna (Kirkland, Wash.) and Sam Dommer (Folsom, Calif.).
For more information on Hack’s extraordinary career to date, view his profile at this link. He is the son of Dr. Gregory and Dr. Barbara Kelly Hack of Old Lyme, both of whom rowed at college.
Congratulations, Austin, and good luck in Lucerne!